Later at the Collins estate, Elijah rushed toward the front doors. He was close to being late to dinner thanks to the time of his return.
As Elijah walked through the doors, he started to unbutton his shirt to be faster at getting dressed for dinner.
Elijah looked around for the butler as he removed his shirt. He needed another to replace it, so it would appear he had been home for some time now.
"Ahem," the sound of someone clearing their throat startled Elijah.
To his right, Rue stood quietly with a jar filled with water in her hands. Her eyes were glued to him, filled with amusement.
Rue raised the jar and said, "I came to get water so we wouldn’t trouble the butler."
"We?" Elijah asked, looking around. "How many more of you are there?"
"Not enough for you to worry about other ladies seeing you . It is only Julie and I here with Lily. We have the pleasure of staying the night here, and Julie’s father will come for her in the morning," Rue shared.
Elijah moved his shirt to hide himself from Rue’s eyes.
Rue chuckled. "There’s no need to be shy, young duke. I have been around plenty of shirtless men. It comes with being the daughter of the man who was once commander of the king’s knights."
"I don’t think your father would be pleased to hear you are familiar with a man’s naked body," said Elijah.
Rue smiled. "It is only your chest unless you were going to strip further. If you were going to remove more than just your shirt, then I should have stayed quiet."
"I am merely teasing you," Rue said, but her eyes lingered on his chest once more.
Elijah’s shirt wasn’t of much help in hiding him from Rue’s eyes.
"Are you shy, Elijah?" Rue asked in a taunting tone. "I won’t look your way if it shall help you."
Rue looked away as promised.
Rue certainly was unique.
Elijah proceeded to get dressed in his shirt again. "What am I to do with you, Rue?"
"Nothing since I have done nothing. What a pity that you are getting dressed. I had something to use against the ladies who love you," said Rue.
"And what would that be?" Elijah asked.
"Seeing you without a shirt. I am most certain they would faint just hearing it, or some would get angry that I have seen what is meant for their wedding night. I feel like you owe me, Elijah," Rue said.
"Oh," Elijah said, amused by this. "Would you mind enlightening how I owe you?"
"Well," Rue said, drawing closer to Elijah. "I am having trouble with ladies who wish to court you. It has come to the point that I truly might steal you from them. Only for the time I shall be here, of course."
"Again with the stealing," Elijah said, eagerly awaiting it. "I wasn’t aware that I had been claimed by anyone for you to steal me. Again, I would love to know how you would steal me."
"My mother taught me that a lady doesn’t reveal her tricks. You will know in time when I am using you to upset the other ladies. I hope you will give in on my game," said Rue.
After what Selina did today, Rue was closer to courting Elijah for the fun of it.
"Seeing how shy you are now, I must reconsider it. I cannot have you thinking my actions are serious and something to form. I would hate to reject you. I advise you to make it known that you are not owned by anyone, clear to your ladies before they end up missing," Rue advised Elijah.
Rue stood still at an arm’s length away from Elijah. "I am done playing nice."
"I have never made promises to any of the ladies in town, to need to clear up anything now. I am a free man," said Elijah.
"Indeed, you are. You missed a button," Rue noticed.
Elijah looked down at his shirt. "Weren’t you meant to be looking away?"
"Then you are admitting that you are shy?" Rue replied.
A crooked grin tugged on the corners of Elijah’s lips as Rue succeeded in entertaining him.
"You are quite lucky, Rue," Elijah said, fixing his buttons as he spoke. "You should be on your way with that water."
"Should I? Or should I find out why you think I am lucky?" Rue asked, but she had a good guess why. "If I were not holding it, was there something you would do? You might be taller than me," Rue said, drawing closer to Elijah once more. "But I can handle a man like you," she spoke softly.
"By throwing you flat on your buttocks," Rue said, smiling innocently. "A trick my mother taught me, but I won’t use it on you. I don’t want to hurt the duke’s son."
"I should get the water to the others and allow you to walk the estate, undressing as you go. I have already warned you that there are ladies in your home, so you should be careful from now on. Until dinner," Rue said, curtsying.
Done with teasing Elijah, Rue was ready to get back to the others before they started to worry.
"Rue, do you still need someone to take you around the town?" Elijah asked.
"Penelope and Lily have offered to do it, but if you are asking to do it, you would need to speak with my father. Are you not worried that the ladies around the town would misunderstand? They think I don’t know how to act as a lady. Surely, they would think you have lost your mind being seen with me," said Rue.
"I have never been ashamed of you. You shouldn’t let my mother hear you speak this way, as she would be disappointed. I shall take you around the town on a day of your choosing. I will show you the fun side of Lockwood," Elijah said.
"I like the sound of this," Rue replied. "It would be even better if we could go without carriages. I have brought my horse to town, but I wasn’t given a chance to ride him beyond the gates of where we stay."
"Then, I’ll arrange for us to go on horses," said Elijah.
"Wonderful. I will convince my father to go with you. Will your sisters be joining us?" Rue wondered.
"No. It’ll be a pleasant day for me if they are not around. If we are lucky, you can play your game with the other ladies," Elijah suggested.
"You wish for us to be alone? I see what you are doing," Rue said, not surprised by his intentions.